Car-stake fastener.



0. F. REEVES.

GAR STAKE FASTENER. APPLICATION FILED APR. 5, 1912.

1,047,291 Patented Dec. 17, 1912.

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H a l5 2E3 L I I) WITNESSES: 9 VENTOR COLUMBIA PLANODRAP-N' 50.;WASHINGTON. 04 c.

OSCAR F. REEVES, OF SAGINAW, MICHIGAN.

CAR-STAKE FASTENER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. 1'7, 1912.

Application filed April 5, 1912. Serial No. 688,756.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, OSCAR F. REEVES, acitizen of the United States, residing at Saginaw, in the county ofSaginaw and State of Michigan, have invented certain new and usefulImprovements in Car-Stake Fasteners; and I do hereby declare thefollowing to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention,such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains tomake and use the same.

This invention is a car stake holder and relates particularly to holdersfor car stakes used on fiat cars for transporting logs.

The objects of the invention are to provide a simple, strong and durablecar stake holder having means for simultaneously releasing all of thecar stakes along one side of the car platform, to allow the stakes todrop outwardly, thereby releasing the logs.

A further object is to provide a releasing mechanism that is simple inconstruction, not liable to get out of order, and capable of beingoperated from the end of the car so that the person releasing the loadneed not be exposed to danger from the falling logs.

With these and certain other objects in view which will appear later inthe specification, my invention consists in the devices described andclaimed and the equivalents thereof.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a perspective view broken away in part, ofa car to which my improvement is attached; Fig. 2 is a similar detailshowing the car stakes released; Fig. 3 is a perspective detail of oneform of the car stake holder with the looking link lowered; Fig. 4 is asimilar view showing the locking link in its working position; Fig. 5 isa top plan view of the parts shown in Figs. 3 and 4.

In the drawings, 1 is a beam carried on the car platform and extendingtransversely across it. To each end of the beam is secured a car stakeholder comprising a pair of side plates 2, the ends of which projectbeyond the ends of the beam 1, and beyond the ends of the'car platform.A. ring 3 is swiveled to one of the side plates and carries a link 4, tothe opposite end of which is secured a loop 5. Secured to the other sideplate is an outwardly projecting lug 6 upon which is pivotally mounted ahook 7 having a shank 8 which swings in a horizontal plane. Hook 7 isadapted to receive the loop 5 to hold link 4 in its locked positionacross the ends of the side plates 2, thereby forming a pocket in whichthe car stake 9 is received. WVhen shank 8 of the hook is swung to theposition shown in Fig. 2, link 4 is released and the car stake drops bythe pressure of the logs behind it.

In some cases I may use in addition to the link 4 a hinged socket member10' pivoted at its lower ends between downward projections 11 on sideplates 2, as shown in Figs. 2, 3 and 4. It is to be understood, however,that the socket member is not an essential feature of my presentinvention, which re lates more particularly to the means by which link 4is locked in position and'released, and by which all of the stakes alongone side of the car are released simultaneously. The locking andreleasing device consists primarily in a flexible cord, cable, or chain12, or equivalent, one end of which is secured to the shank 8 of thehook at the far end of the car, the cable extending lengthwise of theplatform and preferably passing through holes in the beams 1 and sideplates 2, to the other end of the car platform where a slotted lug 13 ismounted. To the end of cable 12 is secured a short length of chain 14,the links of which are engaged by the slotted lug 13 to hold the cableand shanks 8 in their locked position. Car stakes intermediate the endsof the car are similarly held in place by clips 15 secured to the cable12 and engaging the shank 8 of the hook. It will be noticed that whenloop 5 is in locked engagement with hook 7, the outward pressure of thelogs against the stake 9 produces only a slight tendency of the shank 8to swing outward and unlock, so that there is a comparatively lighttension in the cable 12, practically obviating all liability of breakingthe cable, no matter how much pressure is brought upon the car stakes.To release the cable the operator stands at the end of the car and witha bar or sledge drives the chain out of the slotted lug, whereupon thecable is drawn forward by the shanks 8, the links 4 are released, andthe car stakes drop simultaneously.

By the means above described I have produced a simple, strong andinexpensive looking and releasing device that is not liable to get outof order, that is capable of being easily repaired, and contains in itsconstruction no parts that are liable to be damaged by becoming bent ortwisted.

Having described my invention, what I claim and desire to secure byLetters Patent is 1 1. A plurality of transverse beams having openingstherein and having projecting side plates at their ends, a linkremovably secured across the outer ends of said side plates, a loopcarried by said link, a lug on the other of said side plates, a hookpivoted to said lug and adapted to engage said loop, a rearwardlyextending shank on said hook, a flexible cable secured to said shank andpassing loosely through said openings, and means for releasably securingsaid cable.

2. The combination with a car having transverse beams thereon, saidbeams formed with openings, of a stake-holder comprising side platessecured to the ends of and projecting beyond each of said beams; a linkpivotally secured to one of said side plates, a hook hinged to the otherof said side plates and adapted to engage the free end of said link, ashank on said hook adapted to swing in a horizontal plane; a flexiblecable connecting the shanks of successive hooks and passing through theopenings of said beams, clips on said cable adapted to engage saidshank, and means located near the end of the car adapted to releasablyengage said cable, for the purposes set forth.

In testimony whereof, I aflix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

OSCAR F. REEVES. Witnesses:

CHRISTINE A. BRAIDEL,

GEO. W. SMITH.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents,

' Washington, D. C.

